Slush pump valve



Dec. 28, 1937. c. WHITE SLUSH PUMP VALVE Filed July 14, 1934 A rromvsr.

Patented Dec. 28, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Oil Well Manufacturing Corporation,

Los

Angeles, Oalii'., a corporation of California Application July 14,

2 Claims.

My invention relates to valve structures, and

more particularly to a novel form of slush pump valve structure.

In drilling oil wells by the rotary method, it

is customary to continuously supply rotary mud under pressure to the rotating bit through the drill pipe. A slush pump is utilized for developing this high pressure. The valves of a slush pump ordinarily comprise a stationary seat with a pressure operated valve member adapted to seatthereon to form a fluid-tight fit when the pressure on one side of the valve becomes greater than on the other side thereof by a predetermined amount.

contains large quantities of abrasive matter, and

quickly wears away the'valve member and the seat member.

It is well known that a flexible rubber valve,

' due to its ability to conform to a rough seat is .30 time retain the ability of a flexible valve to conform to rough and uneven seats.

It is another object of my invention 'to provide a valve construction embodying a metal valve body adapted for engagementwith a metal valve seat for carrying the pressure load and in combination therewith a flexible sealing disc adapted to form a seal around the valve body when the body isseated.-'

It is another object of the invention to provide a valve construction as described in the above paragraph in which the sealing disc engages the seat in such a manner as to provide an annularspace between the valve and the disc when the valve is seated to receive any fluid which may be forced upwardly between the valve and the seat as the valve is seated.

It is another object of my invention to provide in a structure of the character described above a resilient clip means for removably attaching the flexible sealing disc to the valve body, there being no threaded parts which might become frozen during operation causing difliculty in disassembling the: parts of thevalve for replacement of the flexible disc. 1

These and other objects of my'invention will The mud used in ordinary drillingoperations 1934, Serial No. 735,229

be better understood from a perusal of the folv lowing part of the specification and the appended claims, in connection with the accompanying drawing which is for illustrative purposes only.

In the drawing, 1 5

Fig. 1 is a utility view illustrating a slush pump equipped with the valve structures embodying the features of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of one of the valvestructures showing the valve in closed position.

Fig, 3 is a sectional view taken as indicated by the line 3-4! of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken as indicated by the line. ll of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken as indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig- 2, this. view illustrating a novel resilient clip for retaining the parts of the valve together. 7

Fig. 6 is a detailed perspective view 'of the clip member shown in Fig. 5.

Referring-to Fig. 1, I have illustrated a slush -pu mp,'generally designated by the numeral it], having a prime mover Ii operatively connected by a connecting rod l2 to a; pump section l3.

The prime mover is such that the rod I2 is reciprocated, this rod carrying therewith a piston l5 slidable in a liner It. This liner provides a cylinder l1 which is open at both ends so as to communicate with valve passages l8 and i9 formed in ahouslng 20 of the pump section l3.

These valve passages conduct mud from an in-' take passage 2 I, this'flow of mud being controlled by valve structures 30 closing valve' seats provided in a valve deck 22 included in the housing 20,

which valve structuresincorporate the features of my invention.

' In the type of slush pump shown, these valves are intermittently operated by a pressure differential which exists between the intake passage 2| and the valve passages i8 and I! as thepiston I5 is reciprocated. when the piston 15 is moved to the left from the position in which it is shown in Fig. l, the right hand valve structure will be open, thus allowing mud to pass therethrough and through the valve passage i8, as indicated by the arrow 23, so that thisinud fllls the increasing volume of the cylinder I'I on the rightward side of the piston i5 as the piston moves leftward.

The left hand valve structure 30 is at this time with an upwardly diverging tapered passage 32' adapted to receive a tapered metal valve seat 33, preferably in press fit relationship therewith. The valve seat 33 is provided with an upwardly facing conical seating surface 34 and a central hub 35 providing an axial bore 36. The hub 35 is integrally connected to the body portion of the seat member 33 by a web 31 substantially in the manner shown, so as to provide a fluid passage 38 through the seat member.

Provided in the housing 20 directly above the valve structure 30 is an opening 40 of sufi'icient diameter to allow the passage of the valvestructure 30 therethrough. The opening 40 is closed by a suitable cap 4| having a central recess 42 adapted to receive a bushing 43 providing a bore 44 which extends co-axially with the bore 36 in the hub 35.

I provide a valve generally designated by the numeral which comprises a body 5| having a seating portion 52 conforming to the shape of the seating surface 34 of the seat 33, which body is designed to carry the pressure load on the valve. The valve body 5| is provided with a pin portion 53which is preferably integral therewith and which projects axially on opposite sides of the valve body 5| so as to be slidably received in the bores 44 and 36 substantially in the manner shown for the purpose of guiding the valve body 5|. The upper end 55 of the pin portion 53 is provided with a plurality of longitudinal grooves 55 so that the pin 55 may be freely slidable in the bore 44.

Carried by the body portion 5| is a centrally apertured flexible disc 51 formed of rubber or other suitable flexible material. The disc 51 is preferably in the form of an annular ring which.

Positioned on top of the disc 51 is a centrally apertured pressure plate 50. Formed in the upper pin portion 55 adjacent the pressure plate is a shoulder 62 which is formed preferably by providing an annular groove 53 in the outer surface of the pin 55. The shoulder 62 is provided to serve as an abutment for a resilient clip 10 adapted to pressurally retain the above described parts together so that the lower surface of the disc 51 is maintained in close surface contact with the upper surface 58 of the valve body 5|.

The clip 10 is formed of a plate having a central opening 12 of a diameter to receive the reduced diameter portion 13 formed in the upper pin 55 by the annular groove 53. The clip is provided with a pair of fingers 15 and 16 cooperating to form a passage 11 through one side of the plate communicating with the central opening 12, As illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, the width of one portion 18 of this passage is smaller than the diameter of the central opening 12. portions of the fingers 15 and 15 are preferably tapered outwardly and bevelled upwardly substantially in the manner shown at 30 in Figs. 5 and 6. Formed in the clip 10 on the opposite side from the passage 11 is a cut-out portion 8| communicating with the opening 12 in such a manner. that the walls formed by the opening 12 provide a pair of arcuate segments spaced as shown from the integral resilient portion joining the fingers 15 and 16.

With the disc 51 and the pressure plate" The outer assembled on the valve body 5| as shown and previously described, the clip 10 is positioned on the pressure plate 60 so that the tapered surfaces 80 of the fingers 15 and 16 engage the lower surface of the shoulder 62. The clip 10 is then driven or otherwise forced laterally so that the fingers 15 and." snap around the reduced diameter portion 13 into the position shown in Fig. 5, which serves to confine the flexible disc 51 between the clip 10 and the body 5|. It is obvious that for removal of the disc 51 from the valve body it is only necessary to force the clip 10 in the opposite direction to that above described, whereupon the pressure plate 60 and the disc 51 may be removed from the valve for replacement or for the purpose of turning the valve disc 51 over. I

I prefer to utilize a means of centralizing the flexible disc 51 with relation to the valve, which means comprises an upwardly extending annular rib 30 formed on the upper surface 53 of the valve body 5|, which rib is-adapted to extend into one of a pair of annular grooves 92 formed on opposite faces of the disc 51 substantially as shown in Fig. 2.

It is, of course, obvious that the central aperture of the disc 51 with relation to the diameter to constantly urge the valve body into engagement with the seat 33.

In the operation of the valve, the valve body 5| seating on the surface 34 of the seat 33 carries the pressure load on the valve, and the portion of the disc 51 extending outwardly beyond the periphery of the body 5| engages the surface of the seat around the periphery of the body 5|, forming a seal therearound, the pressure in the valvepassage above the valve deck forcing the flexible disc into intimate contact with the upper surface of the seat.

It will be noted in Fig. 2 that the respective diameters of the disc 51 and the valve body 5| with relation to the depth of the conical seating surface 34 is such that the disc, the valve and the upper portion of the surface 34 cooperate to provide an annular space surrounding the valve when it is seated. This is an important feature of the invention, the purpose of this space I00 being to receive any fluid which might be forced upwardly between the valve 5| and the seating surface 34 when the valve is seated. Thus none of the fluid which might contain relatively large bodies of abrasive matter is forced outwardly between the disc 51 and the upper surface of the seat after the disc is seated, obviating the likelihood of any of these bodies of matter becoming lodged between the disc and the seat and destroying the sealing efilciency of the disc.

It is, of course, obvious that in installations where removable insert valve seats are not used, and the valve seat is formed in the valve deck 22, the disc 51 is adapted to engage the upper surface of the deck 22 in substantially the same manner as described in connection with the valve seat 33.

Although I have herein described only one complete embodiment of my invention, it should be understood that various changes might be made, and other embodiments of the structure devised without departing from the scope of the invention, which should be interpreted by the appended claims.

I claim asmy invention:

1. In a valve structure, the combination of: a valve body adapted to engage a seat and including a pin portion; a flexible disc carried by said body and having a seating face on each side thereof, said disc being reversible to dispose either of said seating faces for engagement with said seat when said valve body is seated to form a seal therearound; walls forming an annular groove in opposite faces of said disc; an annular rib formed on said body and extending into one of said grooves forcentralizing said disc on said body; a pressure plate on said pin for retaining said disc; a shoulder formed on said pin adjacent said plate; and a clip engaging said shoulder for retaining said plate, said clip comprising a pair of relatively spaced fingers integrally joined by a resilient portion, each of said fingers having an inwardly extending arcuate segment spaced from said resilient portion and adapted to fit said pin and the inner sides of the free ends of said fingers being tapered outwardly and beveled upwardly so that the space between said fingers is narrowest adjacent said segments, said, beveled portions engaging said shoulder on said pin to increasingly press said plate against said disc when said clip is forced laterally between said shoulder and said plate, said resilient portion allowing said fingers to spread to allow said arcuate segments to snap around said pin in grasping relation, and said tapered portions being adapted to guide said 'clip' into engaging position.

2. In a valve structure, the combination of a valve body adapted to engage a seat and including a pin portion; a fiexible disc carried by said body and having a seating face on either side thereof, said disc being reversible to dispose either of said seating faces for engagement with said seat when said valve body is seated to form a seal therearound; walls forming an annular groove in opposite faces of said disc; an annular rib formed on said body and extending into one of said grooves for centralizing said disc on said body; a pressure plate on said pin for retaining said disc; a shoulder formed on said pin adjacent said plate; and a laterally movable retaining clip including resiliently connected fingers providing grasping segments adapted to snap around said pin into engagement with said shoulder, beveled surfaces on said fingers adapted to compress said disc against said valve body when said clip is forced laterally and tapered portions on said fingers adapted to guide said clip into engagement with said shoulder.

CLARENCE WHITE. 

